1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications call processing. More specifically, it relates to processing of a vanity telephone number dialed by a caller with a conventional telephone, so as to access a national virtual telephone number database to provide benefits, such as improved connection efficiency, selected services or products, to the caller, the servicing location(s) associated with the vanity number dialed and/or the vanity number advertiser.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Traditionally, entities with multiple employees, departments and/or locations, such as businesses and government agencies, have provided their customers with multiple telephone number points of contact, with usually at least one telephone number for each employee, department and location. This has placed a major burden on customers and prospective customers to find, remember, dial and be connected to the correct intra-entity telephone number for the services desired. It also has created cost and administrative burdens on these entities to publish and advertise multiple telephone numbers.
In the new world of electronic commerce, many such entities have started advertising "one number", vanity telephone numbers as their primary customer contact point. These vanity numbers are usually national 10 digit numbers starting with area codes such as "800," "888," or "900", local 7 digit numbers starting with an exchange such as "555" and "950" or special purpose three digit numbers like "311", "411" or "911". These numbers are usually easy to remember, such as 1-800-FLORIST. Unlike regular telephone calls with only two participants, vanity telephone number calls can have three participants, recipients, or beneficiaries:
1. The Vanity Number Advertiser PA1 2. The Caller or Consumer PA1 3. The Servicing Location(s) PA1 the network: the system level hardware and software that provides the platform for intra- and inter-system and participant communications; PA1 the information retrieval, processing and storage: the databases and processing algorithms that provide the network application with the information required to fulfill the request; and PA1 the applications: the processes that process and fulfill the request(s) of the caller, the servicing location and/or the vanity advertiser by utilizing the network and the retrieved, processed and stored information. PA1 The USPS address coding guide. PA1 The US Census Bureau's TIGER (Topographical Integrated Geographic Encoded Record) and 1990 census data files. PA1 Geographic and spatial files from Geographic Data Technology, Inc. (GDT) and ETAK.RTM., such as ZIP+4 to latitude and longitude, ZIP+4 to census block, ZIP Code and census boundary, and enhanced TIGER files. PA1 Household and individual databases from Polk, First Data Resources (FDR), Metromail and the big three credit bureaus: Equifax, Trans Union and TRW. PA1 Property databases from TransAmerica, TRW Ready Data and ACXIOM DATAQUICK. PA1 Updated census data files and geodemographic databases from Claritas, Equifax National Decision Systems, Urban Decision Systems (UDS), CACI and Strategic Mapping, Inc. (SMI). PA1 Business and government location databases from American Business Information.RTM. (ABI), DUNS, ProCD and Database American. PA1 Business financial databases from DUNS and TRW. PA1 Hundreds of private company, state and local government and regional files of various types. PA1 They do not contain a telephone number field. PA1 They contain a telephone number field but a high percentage of records have missing telephone numbers, have out of date telephone numbers or have a very limited amount of data associated with the telephone number. PA1 They do not share a common access key that the caller knows, is willing to provide and can easily communicate to a VRU. PA1 1. The stability and updateability of the key over time. PA1 2. The ability of the key to be a unique housing, business and/or postal delivery unit identifier. PA1 3. The geographic hierarchy and precision of the key. PA1 4. The number and quality of updated commercial and public translation tables to and from the key. PA1 5. The availability of tools for third parties to place the key on their files. PA1 6. The ability to precisely associate the key to service locations with service areas of any geographic defined size and shape. PA1 7. The ability of regulated telecommunications entities to code their files with the key and to pass the key outside the regulated portion of the network. PA1 1. Most recent census block code PA1 2. Latitude and Longitude PA1 3. Telephone Nunber PA1 4. USPS ZIP Code PA1 2 digit state code PA1 3 digit county code PA1 4 digit tract code PA1 2 digit tract suffix PA1 1 digit block group code PA1 2 digit block code PA1 1 character block part code PA1 3 digit Numbering Plan Area (NPA) or area code PA1 3 digit NXX, exchange or prefix PA1 4 digit line number or suffix PA1 3 digit ZIP Code is called a Sectional Center. PA1 5 digit ZIP Code is called a Post Office Service Area with a preferred USPS name called the last line name. This is the name shown on the last line of a mailing address. There are 3 special types of ZIP Codes. Two of these, "Fleet Post Office (FPO)/Armed Forces Post Office (APO)" and "PO Box only", do not have precise spatial definitions, but can be linked to unique household equivalent mailing addresses. PA1 7 digit ZIP Code identifies a geographic sector within a Post Office Service Area. PA1 9 digit ZIP Code is called a ZIP+4 and is usually the geographic area of one side of a street within a single one hundred address range block. It is a unique household level identifier for most USPS' PO Box and RR addresses which usually do not have precise spatial definitions. PA1 11 digit ZIP Code is called the Delivery Point Code or ZIP+6 and uniquely identifies a street number address, such as 123 N Main St. The street address is the most common USPS address and is a unique housing or business unit identifier for all single unit buildings with unique street addresses. PA1 Connecting a caller to a servicing location: The prior technology does not support service locations having service areas of any size and shape, nor situations where geographic precision is required. A solution is desired that provides these abilities in an integrated common architecture. PA1 USPS address retrieval: This is presently addressed by having the caller record their name and address, which is later listened to by a person and transcribed. The transcribed address is then processed through CASS certified software for use in an existing customer database of addresses indexed by telephone number. What is desired is a way to use a caller provided telephone number to directly retrieve the CASS certified USPS address associated with the caller provided telephone number and, in applications requiring 100% accuracy, providing the caller a means to verify the retrieved address. In addition, in a post call process, the retrieved, verified and stored address and additional linked data is desired to be used by the vanity advertiser to mail to the caller, for example, a requested store coupon, menu, catalog or informational packet. PA1 The VRU speaks the service location(s) name, address and/or micro directions (to the caller): Service location information is needed by the caller to mail, pickup and/or drop off something to a selected servicing location. The greatest need for micro-area directions to service location(s) is with service locations very small in size, such as Federal Express, UPS and USPS drop boxes, or ATMs located in large physical entities, such as shopping centers or multi-story buildings. A solution is desired that provides these abilities in an integrated common architecture. PA1 The VRU speaks driveable street directions from the caller's location to the selected service location (to the caller). In addition, in a call parallel application, after transferring the call to the servicing location, the application retrieves the service location's FAX number from a Service Location Table and faxes to the service location the caller's telephone number, address and a map and/or directions from the service location to the caller location to assist the servicing location with delivery to caller. The Savage reference describes a application that requires the caller to input two telephone numbers, and the only benefactor to the Savage device is the caller. What is desired is a system that does not require the input of any telephone numbers, or at worst, only one telephone number is provided by the caller. In addition, services would be provided to the caller, servicing location and/or the vanity advertiser. PA1 Eliminating servicing locations based on days and hours of operation and/or services offered: A solution is desired that provides these abilities in an integrated common architecture. PA1 Caller profiling based on Census or geodemographic data: A system is desired, based on a caller's geodemographic code and product consumption rates, to only present product options to the caller that the caller is most likely to buy, or to route the call to an appropriate sales specialist based on the caller's profile. PA1 Applications that require the caller's name and/or individual data such as product registration and insurance, loan or credit applications: What is desired is a way of linking a Spatial Key to a household database containing data, such as name of head of household, street address, number of children in the household and the names of other individuals living in or associated with the household. The system would speak these individual names and the caller would identify himself or herself. Then the system would link to individual data, such as date of birth, credit rating, and so forth, and provide it to the caller, servicing location, and/or vanity advertiser. PA1 Business Location Data Retrieval: What is desired is a way of linking the caller's Spatial Key to a business database containing data, such as name of Business, SIC, Number of employees and DUNS number, which would link directly into the DUNS database for credit information. PA1 Real Property Database Retrieval: What is desired is a way for a contractor, for example, before bidding on a job, to dial a vanity number that interfaces with an automated property database, enter the telephone number of the supposed residential property owner and verify the ownership, address, mortgage holder, and any outstanding liens on the property. PA1 Address Lookup and verification by an operator taking a telephone order: In current telephone order systems, an operator key enters a customer's address and verifies the spelling with the caller. What is desired is a way for the caller's telephone number to be passed to the computer system to automatically retrieve the CASS certified address associated with the caller's telephone number and display it on the operator's visual display. The operator would then ask the caller for the address to which they want the order shipped. If the addresses match, the operator would not have to key enter it and verify the spelling with the caller. If the addresses are different, there is a high potential that the caller is trying to make a fraudulent order and the operator would ask additional questions required to make this determination. PA1 Real Time Address to Spatial Key Coding and Spatial Key to Client Table with Off-Line Master Table update: What is desired is a way of continually updating a Master Table (Phone Number to Spatial Key table) that supports multiple clients and applications in the situation when a caller is trying to be connected to a servicing location and has provided a valid telephone number that is not in the Master Table. PA1 "911" application: In a real time Public Health and Safety application, the caller places an emergency call to the emergency telephone number "911." The "911" application costs the U.S. taxpayer several billion dollars each year, and is currently overloaded with non-emergency calls. What is needed is a more economical alternative system for non-emergency "911" calls that can alleviate the load from the current overworked system. PA1 19 digit ZIP Code is required to create a unique housing or business unit identifier for multiple unit buildings or equivalents, such as trailer parks or firms receiving large volumes of mail. PA1 1. The USPS provides monthly updates to all postal files. PA1 2. The ZIP Code has 6 hierarchical levels. PA1 3. There are very economically priced commercial tools, such as Group 1 and Mailer's Software, that address standardize and assign 11 digit ZIP Codes to files containing raw addresses. PA1 4. Adding the remaining 8 digit code is a fairly basic process for records that require a secondary address to create a unique housing or business unit identifier. PA1 5. There are frequently updated ZIP+4 to latitude and longitude and ZIP+4 to census block translation tables available from the USPS, GDT, Business Location Research (BLR), ETAC and others. PA1 6. There are no technical barriers to creating a DPC to latitude and longitude file if one was required. This would provide the most precise, theatrically possible latitude and longitude assignment of street addresses. PA1 7. There are no restrictions on passing an extended USPS 19 digit ZIP Code outside the regulated telecommunications network because it is not considered customer provided network information. PA1 8. There is a major public safety initiative to change as many RR Box number addresses to street addresses as possible, thus increasing the coverage of the Spatial Keys that can be linked to a precise latitude and longitude. PA1 1. Connecting a caller to a servicing location: This application connects the caller directly to a servicing location retrieved from a Spatial Key indexed Client Table based on the caller provided telephone number being physically located inside the retrieved servicing location's exclusive service area geographically defined as any size or shape. High geographic precision of the location is supported. In cases where the caller provided telephone number is located inside multiple non-exclusive service areas, this application provides the caller a VRU menu of retrieved servicing locations names and then directly connects the caller to the closest servicing location or the one selected by the caller. These abilities and features are provided in a integrated common architecture. PA1 2. USPS address retrieval: This application is based on utilizing the caller or caller provided telephone number to retrieve the caller's CASS certified USPS address. The caller's Spatial Key is linked to the Spatial Key coded and indexed USPS address coding guide and the address is retrieved. The VRU speaks the address back to the caller for confirmation in applications requiring 100% accuracy before linking to any other databases. In addition, in a post call process, the retrieved, verified and stored address and additional linked data can be used by the vanity advertiser to mail to the caller, for example, a requested store coupon, menu, catalog or informational packet. PA1 3. The VRU speaks the service location(s) name, address and/or micro directions (to the caller): Based on a caller provided telephone number, the caller's Spatial Key is used to retrieve location ID(s) of the service location(s) nearest the caller from a Client Table that is associated with the caller's DNIS. The retrieved ID(s) are indexed into the corresponding Service Location table to retrieve the above mentioned information. This can be used by the caller to mail, pickup and/or drop off something to the selected servicing location. Providing the caller with pre-stored micro area directions to the service location(s) is usually used with service locations very small in size, such as Federal Express, UPS and USPS drop boxes, or ATMs located in large physical entities, such as shopping centers or multi-story buildings. These abilities and features are provided in a integrated common architecture. PA1 4. The VRU speaks driveable street directions from the caller's location to the selected service location (to the caller): The caller's Spatial Key is linked to a latitude and longitude which is then fed into a GIS server accessing a latitude and longitude coded and indexed street network database. The database provides a set of directions that are spoken by the VRU. The caller does not need to enter either the source (under normal circumstances) or destination location telephone numbers. In a call parallel application: after transferring the call to the servicing location, the application retrieves the service location's FAX number from a Service Location Table and faxes to the service location the caller's telephone number, address and a map and/or directions from the service location to the caller location to assist the servicing location with delivery to caller. In this case, the GIS server returns the direction data in the form of a map and/or directions and passes this image to the FAX server. PA1 5. Eliminating servicing locations based on days and hours of operation and/or services offered: In the case of multiple servicing locations, the final servicing location list is determined by comparing the days and hours of operation of each service location retrieved from the Service Location table with the day and time of the call. Another method involves having the caller select a pickup or delivery option, (for pizza, for example) and eliminating servicing locations from the list that are not currently open or do not offer the desired service. These abilities and features are provided in a integrated common architecture. PA1 6. Caller profiling based on Census or geodemographic data: The caller provided telephone number is linked to a census block or block group database. The Census Block database contains demographic data, such as race, age, median household size and so forth, or a single numeric geodemographic code that is a composite of the census information which links into a geodemographic code by a product consumption table. Based on the caller's geodemographic code and its product consumption rates, the VRU only presents product options to the caller that the caller is most likely to buy. There are also geodemographic systems that use the ZIP+4 as the base geography instead of the census block. PA1 7. Applications that require the caller's name and/or individual data such as product registration and insurance, loan or credit applications: The caller provided telephone number is linked to a household database containing data, such as name of head of household, street address, number of children in the household and the names of other individuals living in or associated with the household. The VRU can speak these individual names and the caller can identify himself or herself. After the step of identification by name, individual IDs associated with the selected name and stored in the database, such as social security number, state drivers license number, credit card number(s) and bank account number(s), can then be used as a linkage to link to individual ID-indexed databases containing individual data, such as date of birth, credit rating, and so forth. This information can then be provided to the caller, servicing location or vanity advertiser. PA1 8. Business Location Data Retrieval: The caller provided telephone number is linked to a business database containing data, such as name of Business, SIC, Number of employees and DUNS number, which links directly into the DUNS database for credit information. The applications here are very similar to the applications for a household database. PA1 9. Real Property Database Retrieval: Most real property databases are maintained by local government agencies and the data stored in these databases is considered public information. This data is compiled from the public agencies by companies, such as ACXIOM DATAQUICK, and made available to paying clients. Before bidding on a job, for example, a contractor could dial a vanity number that interfaces with an automated property database, enter the telephone number of the supposed residential property owner and verify the ownership, address, mortgage holder and if there are any outstanding liens on the property. PA1 1. Address Lookup and verification by an operator taking a telephone order: The caller's ANI is passed to the computer system via Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) to which the operator's CRT is connected or the operator asks the caller for the telephone number and key enters it. The host computer passes the caller's telephone number over the computer network to the computer storing the Master Table of telephone numbers with corresponding Spatial Keys and the Spatial Key coded USPS National Address database and requests the address associated with the caller's telephone number. This CASS certified address is returned and displayed on the operator's CRT. The operator then asks the caller for the address to which they want the order shipped. If the addresses match, the operator does not have to key enter it and verify the spelling with the caller. This saves both time and money and reduces mistakes. If the addresses are different, there is a high potential that the caller is trying to make a fraudulent order and the operator would ask additional questions required to make this determination. PA1 2. Real Time Address to Spatial Key Coding and Spatial Key to Client Table with Off-Line Master Table update: A caller is trying to be connected to a servicing location and has provided a valid telephone number that is not in the Master Table. The call is transferred to an exceptions handling operator and the telephone number and DNIS are passed via ISDN to the operator's host computer and displayed on the operator's CRT. The operator asks for the caller's address and key enters it. The operator then presses a function key that calls a program that USPS standardizes the address and assigns a Spatial Key. The operator validates the standardized address with the caller. If it validates, the operator then presses another function key that passes the Spatial Key and the DNIS to a program that brings up a list of servicing location(s) with their telephone numbers on the CRT screen. The operator then asks the caller which one they prefer and transfers the call by highlighting the selected service location and pressing another function key. The captured telephone number and Spatial Key are stored on disk or other mass storage and are retrieved later by another process that updates the Master Table which supports multiple clients and applications. PA1 3. "911" application: In a real time Public Health and Safety applications, the caller places an emergency call to the emergency telephone number "911." The caller's telephone number is passed by Caller ID to the answering hardware which passes the information via ISDN to a Geographic Information System (GIS) computer with large CRT graphic terminals in front of dispatching operators. The system looks up the caller's Spatial Key in a Master Table and then looks up the caller's latitude and longitude in a Spatial Key to Latitude and Longitude table and the caller's address from the Spatial Key coded and indexed USPS address coding guide. The caller's location is then displayed in the map window on the answering dispatcher's CRT along with the street network and the current location of all emergency vehicles by type and status. The caller's address is displayed in the address window. Based on the type of emergency and the current location and status of the emergency vehicles, the dispatcher determines which vehicles(s) to dispatch and when they should be dispatched. PA1 1. Spatial Key database coding and maintenance. PA1 2. Providing caller communication with a CTI network. PA1 3. Capturing and validating the caller provided telephone number and the vanity number dialed. PA1 4. Linking the captured telephone number to a Spatial Key via a Master Telephone Number to Spatial Key table. PA1 5. Linking the Spatial Key to Spatial Key coded and/or indexed spatial, geographic, USPS address, household, individual, property, business location, government location record databases to retrieve data associated with the caller. PA1 6. Linking the Caller's Spatial Key to service location ID(s) or telephone number(s) stored in a pre-built and Spatial Key coded and indexed Client Table associated with the vanity number dialed (DNIS). PA1 7. Linking the servicing location ID(s) or telephone number(s) retrieved from the Client Table to other service location specific data stored in a Service Locations table associated with the vanity number dialed and indexed by ID or telephone number. PA1 8. Connecting the caller to an exceptions handling operator or system. PA1 9. Spatially relating, in the form of a map or directions, the caller provided telephone number location with the selected servicing location. PA1 10. Connecting or transferring the caller to a servicing location. PA1 11. Storing selected call information to be accessed later by the caller, the serving location, and/or the vanity advertiser. PA1 12. Providing call, call parallel and/or post call information to the caller relating to the servicing location and/or the spatial relationship between the servicing location and the location of the caller provided telephone number. PA1 13. Providing the caller with a post call communications. PA1 14. Providing call, call parallel and/or post call information to the vanity number advertiser and the servicing location(s) regarding the ANI, DNIS, caller provided telephone number and corresponding Spatial Key, and data retrieved or processed from databases using the Spatial Key as a linkage means. PA1 15. Providing the vanity number advertiser and servicing locations post call communications.
Based on the increased volume of calls to these vanity numbers and customer demands for 24 hour support during seven days a week, reduced telephone busy signals and shorter hold times, vanity number advertisers have begun answering these calls with a new technology called Voice Response Units (VRU), also known as Interactive Voice Response (IVR).
Currently, there are over 50 manufacturers of VRUs. The commercialization of the VRU and changes in advertising practices has also spawned large numbers of new VRU applications from product manufacturers. Products may be advertised by an infomercial showing an "800" number to call so that a consumer may obtain a list of nearby dealers and/or a product brochure. The 800 number is answered by a VRU which requests the caller to record their name and address. This partially automates the call process, but requires large amounts of disk storage to store the caller provided recorded voice information and creates a large amount of post call work for the advertiser. For example, the advertiser must listen to, understand, transcribe the caller's name and address, certify the address by use of a United States Postal Service (USPS) coding accuracy support system (CASS), manually compile a list of nearby dealers and mail the information packet to the caller's address. These inefficiencies have created a need to further automate VRU applications. This is accomplished through what is now called intelligent call processing technology.
In this context, automated intelligent call processing (ICP) is defined as the capture of network provided data, such as automatic number identification (ANI) and dialed number identification service (DNIS), and caller-provided data, such as data entered by Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) through a Touchtone telephone key pad or the caller speaking through the telephone to a VRU. ICP also involves the VRU accessing external databases that can decipher, validate, process and fulfill the caller's request by playing pre-recorded messages, creating call specific messages and speaking them to the caller, storing call captured information that can be accessed by or forwarded to the caller, servicing location or vanity advertiser, and/or automatically routing and connecting the caller to the servicing location or department. Semi-automated intelligent call processing is characterized by automating components of the call through intelligent call processing, but having some portion of the request still requiring live operator support during the call.
There are three primary components to an intelligent call processing system: